California Stem Cell Board to Consider Requirements for Grants to For-Profit Research Entities: 10-Year Strategic Funding Plan Up for Adoption
WHO: The 29-member Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC) is the governing board for CIRM.
WHAT: The ICOC will consider a proposal from its Intellectual Property Task Force to establish interim regulations governing research grants awarded to commercial research enterprises. The proposed terms and conditions are similar to CIRM’s IP policy for non-profit organizations (adopted earlier this year), including as they apply to revenue sharing from licensing activities, but are more aggressive in their application to commercial products. The proposal calls for the State of California to share in any revenues generated by CIRM-funded projects, licensed or developed by a for-profit grant recipient. The State’s financial return rises with the success of the project. The proposal would also require companies to provide discounts on therapies developed with CIRM funds to California residents on public health care plans; to develop plans for making therapies accessible to uninsured Californians; and to give preference to California residents in the event therapies are in limited supply. The proposal also specifies access to research abstracts and conditions for marching in on CIRM-funded patented inventions, among other requirements.
The ICOC will also consider a revised version of CIRM’s Scientific Strategic Plan. A draft version was presented to the ICOC in October. Since then, CIRM has incorporated a “1000 Days” plan, outlining a schedule of grants to be awarded in the next three years, and rewritten the plan’s executive summary. The plan identifies the long-term objectives CIRM will pursue over the next 10 years. It proposes funding a series of 25 initiatives intended to advance stem cell research in California, including $822.8 million to develop and enhance fundamental knowledge of stem cell biology, $898.9 million for pre-clinical research and development, and $656.0 million for clinical trials and related research, as well as $272.7 million for the renovation and construction of new laboratories and research facilities. The plan also defines five- and ten-year goals the Institute will use to measure its progress.
WHEN: Thursday, December 7, 2006
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Estimated)
WHERE: University Club
University of California, Irvine
801 East Peltason Drive
Irvine, CA 92697
WHY: The Stem Cell Research and Cures Act (Proposition 71) requires the ICOC to develop and adopt a strategic plan to define the long-term objectives of the Institute and a funding program to achieve those objectives, as well as regulations governing non-profit and for-profit entities that receive CIRM grants. The Act authorizes the ICOC and CIRM to make $3 billion available to support stem cell research in the state. This past April, $12.1 million was awarded to 16 California non-profit institutions to train 169 stem cell researchers. CIRM is currently reviewing applications for more than $100 million in stem cell research grants, which will be awarded in the first quarter of 2007. The Institute is preparing to solicit applications and award its first grants for research facilities, which are expected to be funded later in 2007.
| CIRM Contact | Dale Carlson |
| (415)/396-9117 |